Blind singer-guitarist Raul Midón is bringing his transcendent music to the Mansion at the Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday.
The blind singer and guitarist from New Mexico has been wowing audiences worldwide for more than two decades. His music remains difficult to categorize, but it draws on jazz, blues, Latin music, flamenco and classical guitar, while also citing singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Paul Simon as influences.
In an interview with WTOP, he talked about the experiences that shaped his sound, his approach to creativity and what he believes an artist can offer an audience.
A musical education from an early age: Midón began taking guitar lessons as a child from a flamenco guitarist. His father also owned a restaurant that featured flamenco performances six days a week, so as a boy, Midón would sit and listen to the musicians, absorbing the rhythms and techniques of the flamenco guitar.
He eventually studied classical guitar and jazz, adding new elements to the musical foundation he had developed through flamenco.
“I’m a big appreciator and lover of improvisation,” he told WTOP, calling jazz “the most sophisticated, improvised music in the world.”
But jazz and flamenco are only part of the picture.
Midón said he is also influenced by the African diaspora, including jazz, blues and Latin music. And as a songwriter, he looks to artists such as Mitchell, Dylan, James Taylor and Prince.
“I love a good song,” he said. “I also love interesting music.”
That combination of songwriting and improvisation has become central to Midón’s unique approach.
When the voice becomes a trumpet, Midón is also known for using his voice to imitate the sound and articulation of a trumpet. That technique grew out of his love for trumpet players such as Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. But for Midón, it is not simply a stage trick.
“Everything that I practice on guitar, all the arpeggios, all the scales, … working through changes, I also applied to my singing,” he said. “So when I quote-unquote ‘scat sing’ or do the trumpet, it’s not just sort of a gimmick. It’s really trying to be an instrument.”
That same willingness to experiment informs his broader philosophy of creativity.
“To be a creative person, I think you have got to keep an open mind,” Midón said.
For Midón, music has never existed in a vacuum. His songwriting reflects what he thinks and believes, and as he prepares to perform in the D.C. area, he is conscious of the political climate and the uncertainty many Americans are experiencing.
“I don’t want to be a preacher or anything like that,” he said. “But it’s hard not to be thinking about what’s going on.”
Midón said he believes people who value the country’s democratic system, despite its flaws, have a responsibility to speak up. He described the current moment as an inflection point and urged people to look beyond party affiliation and treat one another with basic kindness and respect.
For Midón, those concerns are personal. He said his Spanish name and heritage have made him mindful of how he might be perceived amid the current political climate.
“I’m a citizen, but I’m not naive enough to think that the powers that be right now look at somebody like me as an enemy, literally,” he said.
Midón emphasized that he does not intend to turn his concerts into political events. But he does intend to speak honestly about his beliefs, even if doing so alienates some listeners.
“I’m not a politician, and I’m not gonna necessarily go heavy on politics in my shows,” he said. “For people that care, I’m going to say what I think, what I believe.”
His perspective reflects the balance he sees in the role of an artist: acknowledging the world as it is while offering audiences something beyond its immediate anxieties.
Music can provide a temporary escape, he said, but it can also create space for reflection and remind people of what remains possible.
“Politics and things, situations come and go,” he said. “But people come to a show to, in a certain sense, transcend.”
He described a concert as a “temporary parallel reality,” a place where people can experience something outside their everyday lives. But he also believes artists have a responsibility to speak honestly about what they see and believe.
Midón said he does not want to be a preacher, but he acknowledges that current events inevitably influence his songwriting and his perspective.
Ultimately, he hopes his own story can inspire people facing obstacles of their own.
“I sincerely want people to think of me as someone who has transcended a lot of obstacles,” he said. “If that can help them in any way in their lives … they’re pursuing a dream, that I can be an inspiration for that.”
“There’s a lot of possibility still in life,” Midón added.
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